Prayer
by Corovera
Summary: #52 of my 100 Themes one-shot challenge. When he stops at the shrines, Wander does not pray to the gods.


There was another shrine out there, in the distance. He didn't notice it at first, but as he and Agro continued onward, its distinctive shape became unmistakable.

He wanted to ignore it, at first. He didn't need to rest – he wasn't tired, and the afternoon sun wouldn't set for hours. So he urged Agro in the other direction, towards the mountains to the left. Before long, however, he noticed that the horse seemed reluctant to keep moving. She had slowed – not much, but enough for him to notice – and her responses to his commands were sluggish. He pulled back on the reins, and Agro slowed to a trot before stopping completely. Without the sounds of hoofbeats and wind, Wander could hear her breathing heavily. He stroked her neck gently. "Just a little longer," he murmured. "Let's head back to that shrine and rest."

He gave Agro's side a light kick, and she began to run.

* * *

 _"Wander, aren't you forgetting something?"_

 _The boy stopped walking, and looked around. "I don't think so," he said._

 _Mono shook her head. "The shrine is right over there," she reminded him. "You should say a prayer when you pass by."_

 _Wander rolled his eyes. "Do we really have to do it_ every _time?" he complained._

 _"Of course we do! This is holy ground – you have to be respectful," Mono insisted._

 _The girl paused. "Although it doesn't have to be a prayer. You can leave a small offering, or just bow your head if you're in a hurry. But you have to let the gods know that you acknowledge their presence."_

 _Wander looked up at the shrine. Its tall, conical roof towered above him, and its walls stood strong and serene. It wasn't anything fancy, but something about it felt like there really could be a god nearby. "OK, fine," he said. "I'll pray to them."_

 _He closed his eyes, and stood still for a while, whispering words too quietly for Mono to hear them. When he finished, he turned back towards her. "I told them thank you for all the rain we got in the spring, and asked them to make sure Father brings back lots of meat on the hunt tomorrow," he explained. "That's enough, right?"_

 _"That's plenty," Mono assured him._

* * *

Once they reached the shrine, Agro stopped in front of it without Wander even needing to tell her to. He climbed down off her back, and watched as she sat down on the dusty ground. There wasn't much grass in this area, not so close to the desert, but there were patches of vegetation that could serve as a meal if she needed one. Right now, though, she seemed content to simply sit and relax.

Wander, on the other hand, made his way to the shrine. It was virtually identical to all the others he'd seen in this land, none of which looked quite like the one in his village. The roof was designed differently, and the shape as a whole was different. It was smaller, and unlike the well-maintained structure in the village, the outside of this one had been worn down by years of wind and rain.

There were so many of these shrines in the Forbidden Land, and Wander could only guess as to why. There had probably been people living here once, before the land had become cursed. Maybe the shrines had been pilgrimage sites, or had been built simply as monuments rather than places intended to be visited. Whatever their history had been, it didn't matter now. No one else had visited this place for hundreds of years, and whatever gods the shrines had been built to honor had surely abandoned them.

Wander walked towards the structure, but before he could sit down, he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He remained still, one hand on his sword, watching as the little lizard skittered out of the brush beside the shrine. He hadn't realized it before, but he was hungry, and fresh meat suddenly sounded very appealing. He waited, still watching, as the lizard moved away from him. When it was directly in front of him, he struck quickly with his sword, and nearly cut the lizard in two. He approached it, picked it up, and carefully removed its tail.

* * *

 _"When the sky god fell to earth, he was weak and tired. He could not return to his domain as long as he was, but if he waited too long, the great beast he had fought would take command of the winds and lay waste to the earth. So he had to recover his strength as soon as possible."_

 _Mono paused, trying to remember which part came next. Meanwhile, Wander sat across from her, waiting intently for her to continue. "There was a village nearby, so the sky god went to one house after another to ask for food. But in his weakened state, he looked like an ordinary man. The people of the village thought he was a beggar, and turned him away._

 _In desperation, the sky god took to the forest nearby, hoping to find some berries or fruit. Instead, he came across a lizard. The animals, you see, could still see that he was truly a god. Knowing that the being before him must live, the lizard offered its life and its body before the sky god."_

 _Wander stared at her, horrified. "So he's just gonna let the sky god eat him?" he asked._

 _Mono frowned. "I'm not finished," she told him._

 _She took a deep breath, and continued. "Moved by the lizard's devotion, the sky god refused to take his life. Instead, he took only the lizard's tail, knowing that it would grow back in time. To thank the lizard, the sky god blessed it and all of its kind, declaring that the shrines of the gods would forever be safe places for such creatures to live. And as a sign of that blessing, the lizards that live by the shrines have had white tails ever since."_

 _Wander was quiet for a moment. "See?" said Mono. "You didn't need to worry."_

 _Wander smiled. "You're such a good storyteller, Mono!" he said._

 _She blushed just a little. "You think so?"_

 _"Yeah. Someday, you'll be even better than your grandmother. Everyone in the village will want to listen to you!"_

 _"I…don't know about that," Mono replied._

 _"Can you tell me what happens next?" asked Wander. "What happened when the sky god went back to fight the monster? Did he win?"_

 _"I don't know," admitted Mono. "Grandmother hasn't told me that one yet."_

 _She smiled. "But the winds didn't destroy everything, right? We're here right now, so the sky god must have won."_

* * *

Raw meat wasn't the most appetizing of meals, but Wander had grown as used to it as he was going to get. Most of the time, he was unable to start a fire, so cooking was a rare treat.

It was strange. He'd been told that the Forbidden Land was a place where life could not flourish, and even animals dared not enter. Why, then, were there so many of these lizards? He'd seen a few tortoises in the desert, and every now and then, he'd see eagles high in the sky. True, this place was still barren, and there weren't nearly as many animals as there ought to be, but life could still be found here. Maybe it was just one more thing the elders had kept from him, he thought bitterly.

He looked over at Agro, who was still resting nearby. He needed to get going soon. If he didn't find the next colossus before sunset, he would be forced to return to the temple, and the day would be wasted.

He unsheathed his sword, and pointed it towards the sky. The sun shone through the hole in the blade, and the resulting beam of light shone in the direction of the mountains. He was getting close. Soon he would have to fight for his life yet again. His, and hers.

It hurt him to think about her, but he allowed himself to do so anyway. Thoughts of her smile, her voice, her laughter filled his mind, and he clenched his fists tightly. He had to see her alive again. He _had_ to, no matter what the price. That was why he was here, and that was why he could not stop, no matter how difficult his path might be.

He sheathed his sword, and sat back down. If he tried to fight one of those things without being fully prepared, he would die. Better to rest a little longer, just to be safe.

* * *

 _"What do you mean, sacrifice?" Wander demanded._

 _Mono wouldn't even look at him. "What's going on? Tell me!" he cried._

 _When she finally spoke, her voice was little more than a whisper. "When I was a baby, one of the elders had a vision," she said. "On my twentieth birthday, I would bring disaster upon the village. The only way to stop me is for me to die before it happens."_

 _"You mean…you…"_

 _"I was born cursed," she said. "This was always going to be my fate."_

 _"But you would never bring disaster!" Wander protested. "How can they think that?"_

 _"It doesn't matter. I will cause it to happen simply by existing. For the sake of everyone, I…"_

 _She tried to walk away, but Wander grabbed her hand before she could. "How long have you known?" he asked._

 _"All my life," she said._

 _"Who else knew?"_

 _"Only the elders, and my family."_

 _"Why didn't you tell me?"_

 _"Because I…"_

 _Mono pulled her hand away. "It was selfish, I suppose," she told him. "If I had, would you have stayed by my side? Would you have loved me, knowing that you would lose me?"_

 _Wander took her hands, and she could feel that his were shaking. "It doesn't matter!" he exclaimed. "I would never abandon you. How could I?"_

 _A sad smile appeared on Mono's lips. "I am so lucky to have met you," she said. "I wish it didn't have to end like this, but – "_

 _"It doesn't!" Wander insisted. "Let's run away! Let's find somewhere to start over – somewhere far away, where no one knows about the curse. We can stay together!"_

 _Mono shook her head. "And leave everyone else to die? I can't do that, Wander."_

 _"You don't even know that it'll happen!"_

 _"It is the will of the gods," Mono said, softly. "Would you truly abandon them for my sake?"_

 _"If it's for you, I'd…"_

 _Wander trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. "If there's one thing that the stories have taught me, it's that only a fool defies the gods," Mono said._

 _She leaned forward, and gave him a quick kiss. "I love you," she whispered._

 _"And I you," murmured Wander._

 _She let go of his hands._

* * *

When he visited the shrines, Wander did not pray to the gods. They did not deserve his worship, not after they'd taken Mono. Nor did he pray to Dormin – he did not trust that creature with his thoughts, and would give it no thanks or praise until it had kept its promise.

And yet, he could not bring himself to leave the shrines without some kind of acknowledgement. Even if it was just out of habit, it felt wrong to do anything else. So every time he stopped at a shrine, he shared his memories instead. He spoke of everything that he'd seen and done since the last time, putting together a new story piece by piece. And once he was finished, he told himself, Mono would be the first to hear it.


End file.
